Shallow, Closed Basin with Outlet Usually Only in Time of High Water; Peat Or Sand Substrate

Shallow, closed basin with outlet usually only in time of high water; peat or sand substrate, usually inundated; wetland woody and/or BASIN WETLANDS herbaceous vegetation

Basin Marsh Basin Swamp Bog Coastal Swale Depression Marsh Dome Swamp Dominant Herbaceous Shrubby Herbaceous Herbaceous Herbaceous Forested Veg Strata Shrubby Forested Forested Formation Large solution Large, irregular shape Deep peat substrate Long narrow depression Shallow, circular. Shallow, circular. depression or shallow Developed from wetlands in sand/peat- Typical in karst areas Develop in sandy lakes that have filled oxbows of former rivers Moisture held by sand substrate formed in where sand has filled a flatwoods and karst with sediment or in ancient coastal sphagnum mosses Interdunal depressions sinkhole. Water input areas. swale lagoons. Also from rainfall, runoff or karst topography may seepage from uplands produce basin swamps. Typical Sawgrass, cattail, Dominant plants include Sphagnum moss and Graminoids and mixed Maidencane, fire flag, Pond cypress, swamp Vegetation common reed, panicum, black gum, cypress, and dense evergreen forests wetland forbs pickerelweed, St. John’s tupelo, slash pine, cutgrass, southern slash pine. Other typical or shrub thickets of wort, spikerush, yellow- dahoon holly, red watergrass, pennywort, plants include red hydrophytic species or eyed grass, chain fern, maple, blackgum, Spanish needle, redroot, maple, swamp redbay, by marshy prairie with willows, wax myrtle, swamp bay, sweetbay, soft rush, American sweetbay magnolia, or without woody swamp primrose, loblolly bay, pond lotus, loblolly bay, Virginia species. Typical plant bloodroot, buttonbush, apple, Virginia willow, water primrose, willow, fetterbush, species include titi, arrowheads, and fetterbush, chain fern, arrowhead, coastal plain laurel greenbrier, sphagnum moss, dahoon bladderwort poison ivy, royal fern, willow, saltbush, Spanish moss, wax holly, fetterbush, large orchids,laurel, fire flag, elderberry, spikerush, myrtle, titi, sphagnum gallberry, loblolly bay, Vegetation generally in greenbrier, Spanish knotweed, buttonbush, moss, and buttonbush redbay, and sweetbay concentric bands. moss, cinnamon fern, and dog fennel wax myrtle, willow, maidencane, swamp titi, St. John’s wort, lizard’s tail, sawgrass, swamp primrose, redroot, sphagnum moss, arum, water hyssop, buttonbush

Often tallest in center. Typical Two-toed amphiuma, Southern dusky Dwarf salamander, Flatwoods salamander, Flatwoods salamander, Animals lesser siren, greater salamander, cricket squirrel treefrog, little mole salamander, tiger mole salamander, oak siren, cricket frog, pig frog, little grass frog, grass frog, banded water salamander, dwarf toad, dwarf salamander, frog, bull frog, green chicken turtle, striped snake, and cottonmouth salamander, striped southern cricket frog, treefrog, leopard frog, mud turtle, ringneck newt, oak toad, cricket pinewoods treefrog, alligator, eastern mud snake, scarlet frog, pinewoods little grass frog, snake, green water kingsnake, crayfish treefrog, barking alligator, narrowmouth snake, banded water snake, cottonmouth, treefrog, squirrel toad, snapping turtle, snake,black swamp wood duck, hawks, treefrog, little grass mud turtles, eastern mud snake, striped swamp turkey, great horned frog, southern chorus snake, cottonmouth, snake, bald eagle, great owl, barred owl, frog, ornate chorus frog, wood duck, woodstork, blue heron, great egret, pileated woodpecker, narrowmouth toad, swallow-tailed kite, snowy egret, little blue songbirds, gray squirrel, white ibis, eastern barred owl, pileated heron, northern harrier, black bear, raccoon, spadefoot toad, gopher woodpecker, great- tricolored heron mink, river otter, frog, wood stork, and crested flycatcher, bobcat, and white-tailed sandhill crane prothonotory warbler, deer and rusty blackbird Soils Variable, from sand Acidic, nutrient poor Acidic peat Sand/peat-sand Usually acid sand with Peat, thickest towards with a thin build up of peat. Often underlain accumulated in a substrate deepening peat towards center acidic/peaty soils to by clay lens or other depression either by center. May have Underlain w/ acidic deeper muck soils. impervious layer filling in or floating into underlying hard pan sands, then limestone Organic soils will place May have other oxidize in systems that subsoils. dry out during warm May have clay lens. periods. Hydroperiod Seasonally inundated Seasonally inundated Saturated/ occasionally Seasonally inundated Seasonally inundated Seasonally inundated Approx. 200 days.yr 200-300 days/yr inundated Areas of permanent Perched water table may Fresh to brackish, still 50-200 days/yr water w/ or w/out act as reservoir Hydrology maintained water Marshes usually go dry floating vegetation are releasing groundwater by capillary action in most years Marsh Lakes to adjacent upland water table Effects of Shorter hydroperiods Shorter hydroperiods Hydrology and water Shorter hydroperiods Deviation lead to mesophytic lead to mesophytic quality are very allow hardwoods to from Normal species. Longer species which may important replace cypress. Longer Hydroperiod hydroperiods lead to allow for devastating hydroperiods lakes fire. limit tree growth and Longer hydroperiods prevent reproduction limit tree growth and Deeper water may not prevent reproduction do any damage. Fire Frequent Occasional/rare Rare Rare Frequent or occasional Occasional/rare 1-10 years: 5-150 years Highly variable: Herbaceous 1-3yrs Blackgum/hardwoods Shrubby 3-8 yrs Fire restricts invasion of 3-5 years at periphery Shrubby 3-10 yrs burn less often Woody 50-150 yrs shrubs. Burn more 100-150 years towards Pine burn more frequently around center Fire during long term frequently Systems may require periphery. drought conditions (3-5 If no fire: get hardwood fire mgmt, but must Fire is essential for yrs) should be avoided invasion and peat avoid catastrophic peat maintaining this system because of possible accumulation will create fires muck fires; however a bottomland bog catastrophic peat fires may be essential for the long term maintenance of this community. Otherwise deep soils build up and woody plants may become dominant.

Typical Wet prairies or lakes Wet flatwoods, hydric Baygall, wet flatwoods, Wet prairies, seepage Wet prairies, marl Surrounding hammock, or seepage slopes, basin slopes, wet flatwoods, prairies, bottomland Habitats bottomland forest swamps, bottomland mesic flatwoods, dome forest or swale. forest, lakeshores, dome swamps, bogs, sandhill May have depression swamps, ponds, lakes or flatwoods lakes marsh or pond in center sinkholes Habitats with Floodplain marsh, Floodplain swamp, Basin marshes (for the Strand swamp, Similar slough, swale, strand swamp, baygall larger depressions) floodplain swamp, basin Flora/Fauna depression marsh swamp, wet flatwoods, freshwater tidal swamp, baygall, Threats Pollution, drainage for Pollution, timber Pollution, drainage, Pollution, drainage, Pollution and exotic agriculture harvests, drainage trampling, catastrophic agriculture, exotic invasion fires, mining for peat invasion, conversion, regional lowering of water table, fire suppression, deepening for game fish stocking Importance Very few pristine Isolation and small size examples of Basin helps to support a very Swamp communities different assemblage of exist. Those that remain species than that found should be adequately in larger, more protected and properly permanent wetlands. managed Extremely important in providing breeding or foraging habitat

Florida Natural Areas Inventory and Department of Natural Resources. Guide to Natural Communities of Florida. February 1990. < http://www.fnai.org/PDF/Natural_Communities_Guide.pdf > Additional notes in italics included from personal communication with John David Tobe, Ph.D. December 2002.